Here it is on the eve of another deer season and you are here because you want to give big bore airgun deer hunting a go. First of all, thank you! Whether or not you are using an Umarex airgun, we are just happy that you are doing your part to advance airgunning. We and several other airgun manufacturers have put in the time and money to help open airgun hunting seasons across the nation through the Airgun Sporting Association and you airgun hunting is the real goal for all of us in the airgun industry.
Secondly, you don’t just want to be haunting the woods with an air rifle. I’ve heard it called “armed hiking”-- a witty euphemism for coming home empty handed. You want to be successful and we want you to be successful. To that end we’ve compiled a few tips to help you have a good, successful, and safe hunt with your big bore PCP.
Tip One
Before you go out for the hunt, get to know your air rifle. You need to know where any safeties are, how to properly fill the tank, and how to operate the rifle. Naturally the rifle needs to be sighted in at a reasonable distance. This leads directly into the greater point on big bore airgun ballistics.
Tip Two
It is often said that slower moving bullets “travel in an arc”. This is not technically true. What is true is that any projectile starts falling to the ground as soon as it leaves the muzzle. To counteract the effects of gravity, a bullet leaves the muzzle at a slight upward angle. For fast moving firearm rounds like .223 Remington or the really speedy .22-250 Swift don’t need that much of an angle to hit a target at, say, 200 yards since it only takes the bullet a fraction of a second to travel that distance. The barrel is angled up, but angle, in relation to the line of sight through the optic, is exceedingly miniscule.
When you shoot a projectile from an air rifle or air archery gun, the projectile is moving much slower than a projectile shot from a modern centerfire firearm. With this in mind, the projectile must be shot at an upward angle in relation to the line of sight. Because of the slower velocity, the vertical rise and drop of the projectile over a shorter distance become that much more crucial. Using the .50 caliber Umarex Hammer shooting 320 grain ammo and a conventional 100 yard zero as an example, a shooter will see the projectile print nearly 6 inches above the crosshair’s center. At 70 yards, the bullet will print at about 5.2 inches and by 90 yards the bullet will be only about 2.4 inches above the crosshairs. In a mere 10 yards, or 30 feet, the bullet will drop 2.4 inches so that the projectile will land at the vertical and horizontal intersection of the optic. At 110 yards, the bullet will be nearly 3 inches low. The best thing to do is create a dope card that has your real life zero and performance at various distances both shorter and longer than your zero.
Tip Three
With this in mind, you need to be hyper-aware of the distance to target. You can address this from your blind or stand by marking some various trees or other landmarks with a reflective thumbtack or ribbon of marking tape. This is an easy, low-buck solution should you not have access to a rangefinder. A laser rangefinder can measure the distance to a target to a fair degree of accuracy. Just be sure you can operate it quietly while hunting. It would be easy to spook your game by dropping or otherwise banging the rangefinder on your blind or stand.
Tip Four
Know the anatomy of your quarry. There’s lots of lethal shots one may take, but some are much better than others for a successful and humane harvest. Using a big bore PCP might be making a big hole, but the unfortunate truth is that the bullet will typically not expand like a bullet from a traditional firearm. With this in mind, it is crucial for a good shot. If you are shooting from an elevated position, keep in mind the angle of the animal in relation to your shot. Getting too excited and placing the shot wrong can lead to a long afternoon of tracking or regret from just plain missing a lethal portion of the game’s body.
I’m sorry if you were expecting some esoteric knowledge on how to attract the biggest of big bucks– that we will have to leave up to you! Happy hunting!
Mark Davis, avid outdoorsman, family man, and outdoors writer is the eCommerce Marketing Manager for Umarex USA.